Seal for sheet-metal vessels.



PATENTED NOV. 29, 1904.

M. MAURAN.

SEAL FOR SHEET METAL VESSBLS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7?, 1904..

N0 MODEL.

@ywi l mcamz ZHQllJ UNITED STATES Patented November 29, 190%.

PATENT OEEICE.

MAX MAURAN, OF NIAGARA FALLS,

NEIV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO OASTNER SEAL FOR SHEET- METAL VESSELS"SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 775,983, dated November29, 1904:.

Application filed June 7, 1904- Serial No. 211,481. (No model.)

To all whom/ it flea/y concern:

Be itknown that I, MAX MAURAN, a citizen of the United States, residingat Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Seals for Sheet-MetalVessels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to the hermetical IO sealing of sheet-metalvesselssuch as cans, barrels, and drums-and has special reference tothat type of seal in which a dished cover or cap is applied to anopening in the wall of the vessel and secured in place bya beaded or 5similarly-jointed seam.

The object of the invention is to provide a seal which primarily shallbe hermetical, and, secondarily, which can be applied and effectedquickly and by means of a simple tool.

IVith these objects in view the invention consists of the sealhereinafter described in detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings and afterward pointed out in the claim.

The drawings illustrate, in Figure 1, the upper portion of a drum or canin diametrical vertical section with the cap in position before sealing.Fig. 2 is a similar illustration with the sealing-tool in operativeposition. Fig. 3 is a plan of that portion of the head of the drumcontaining the seal, showing a portion of the sealing-tool in dottedlines; and Fig. 4: is a section of the head of the drum containing theapplied and finished seal. 4 The improved seal is ordinarily applied byme to the disk-1i he head of a cylindrical sheetmetal barrel or drumadapted for the transportation of caustic soda and other chemicalproducts which require absolutely hermetical sealing to prevent waste ordeterioration of the contents. Such drums are approximately twenty-twoinches in diameter, and the fillingorifice in the head which is 'to besealed is about liveinches in diameter and located at 4-5 the center. Myinvention, however, is ob viously notljmited to this particular style ofdrum or can nor to any particular dimensions thereof. It is, though, afeature of my invention that-the opening to be sealed is ofcomparatively small size with respect to the head 5 or wall in which itis formed. By this is meant that while the invention pertains to themaking of a joint or seam it does not refer to such a joint as occurs atthe corners of a can where the head joins the side walls, as at thatlocation the peculiar joint formed by my invention cannot be made. lurthermore, the joint formed by my invention must he made in a flatportion of the wall of the vessel such, for instance, as would beafforded. by the head of the barrel ora portion of the side wallsalready flat or made flat for the purposes of the seal.

Referring to the drawings by letter, a rep resents the cylindrical sidewalls of a sheet- 5 metal barrel; 5, the disk-like head of the barrel,and a any approved style of joint between the sides and head. The headis provided, preferably at the center, with a circular iillingopening,the edge of the head around the opening being flat and in substantiallythe same plane as the remainder of the head, except possibly for suchindentations or embossings as may be impressed therein for lettering orornamentation. This continuous flat construction is to enable the headto withstand the radial thrust that takes place in the sealing operationwithout bending or buckling.

The opening in the head is closed by a sheetmetal cap (1 of a dished orconcave-convex shape, having a substantially flat dislclilrc bottom d,short slightly-flared or vertical sides (Z and a comparatively deepradial flange (5. The exterior diameter of the side walls is such 8 5that they make a close friction lit with the edge of the opening, sothat the cap has ordinarily to be pressed or driven into its seat bysuchforce as can be applied against the flange with the thumbs or a lighthammer. 9 When properly seated, as in Fig. 1, the bottom of the cap isin a plane slightly below that of the head of the drum, and the lowerportions of the vertical sides (I are in a plane between the bottom (6and the head I), while the flange d" is in contact with or close to theouter surface of the head. The :ap is now to be hermetically sealed, andl, accomplish this by the aid of a suitable tool. I prefer to use thetool described in my application, Serial No. 201,689, filed April 5,1904:, which consists, essentially, of a head a, havinga radial handle fand carrying on its under face two flanged beading-rollers g. A secondradial handle /t,'diametrically opposite the first, is pivoted to thehead at it and has an angular extension la" leading through an orificein the head and carrying a third beading-roller i so located withrelation to the other two rollers as to locate the angles of a triangle,as shown in Fig. 3. By swinging the handles it and f on the pivot therollers g and t will approach or separate, and so vary the size of acircle that would inclose them and be tangent to each. A tool of thischaracter is applied to the cap, so that the flanges of the rollers willimpinge against the inner corners of the cap.

Then by pressing down on the handles f and 7t and at the same timetwisting or swinging them around and back several times that portion. ofthe vertical walls (Z below the plane of the head 7) will be expanded orstretched radially outward and will draw that portion within the planeof head 7) with it, forcing it against the sharp edge of the opening inthe head and causing the latter to sink or bite into the material of thecap. In this expanding operation the bottom (Z is also necessarilyexpanded to follow the sides (Z outward, and when thus set the bottomserves as a brace to prevent the expanded sides from springing back tothe original shape and reducing the seal. To obtain an effective seal atall points around the circle, it is important that the flange (Z shouldbe free while the expansion is taking place, for it can be seen that ifthe flange were held rigid the sides would not be free to respond to theaction of the rollers, and it would also tend to make the sides springloose after the beading or upsetting operation. As the best evidence ofthis it is pointed out that after the sealing operation the flange ofthe cap is in a warped condition, being lifted from the surface of thehead (0 in some places, while hugging it in others, as seen in Fig. 4.

l ascribe the efliciency of the seal very largely to the fact that thesides (Z are not hindered in their expansion by a rigidly-held flangeand that after they are expanded they are held set by the expandedbottom. Inasmuch as the expanding force is radially appliedsubstantially in the plane of the head 7) it follows that the edge ofthe head around the sealed opening should be in the same plane that itmay not yield to the strain. It is evident that if the edge wereinclined upward or downward or an annular gutter were formed in the headat or near the edge the metal would be likely to fold up under theradial pressure exerted upon it by the tool and defeat the object of theinvention. It will also be clear now that the seal cannot be made at thecorners of the barrel, for the reason that the resistance to the radialpressure would not occur in that location to a serviceable extent. lVitha large flat head and a small opening at the center the best results areobtained.

I wish to differentiate the present invention from those in which themetal of the cap or the head is folded to embrace or clamp the edge ofthe opposed member and those in which the joint is made by a rivetingprocess. In all such instances the elflciency of the seal is not sogreat as in mine, where the metal of one part is forced. into that ofthe other and there held.

Having described my invention, I claim A metal-can closure comprising aflat wall of the can having a circular opening therein of comparativelysmall dimensions, the edge of which is flat and in the same generalplane as the remainder of the wall, in combination with a sheet-metalcap located in said opening and having a disk-like bottom, side wallsand an exterior radial flange, a portion of the side walls lying in theplane of the flat can-wall being penetrated radially by the edge of theopening, while another portion of the side walls beneath the plane ofthe can-wall, together with the disk like bottom, extends radially to agreater diameter than the opening in the can-wall and thereby maintainsthe side walls of the cap in their penetrated condition, substantiallyas described.

In witness whereof I subscribe mysignature in the presence of twowitnesses.

MAX MAURAN.

\Vitnesses:

AL'roN A. RICHARDSON, PHILIP CLANoY.

